How to 24 Hour Read-a-Thon

With Dewey’s 24 hour read-a-thon starting tomorrow, April 23rd, I thought I’d write a blog post about how I like to approach a 24 hour read-a-thon like Dewey’s. Now I don’t claim to be an expert at that at all. I’ve only done it 3 times so far. But I know some people hesitate to do a 24 hour read-a-thon as it can seem a bit daunting. So maybe I can help with some of the things I consider beforehand, during and after.

Preperation

Sign-up (if needed)
Some read-a-thons prefer you to sign up for interactions, others want you to use a certain hash tag so you can all find each other. In some cases you need to have signed- up to be able to take part in the giveaways.

Timezone
While most read-a-thons are pretty lose about what time zone you start in, 24 hour read-a-thons like Dewey’s like us all to start at the same time. This is also for interaction purposes. There are cheerleaders that sign-up that come cheer you on so it is easier if everyone is reading at the same time. In my timezone we will be starting at 14.00 PM for Dewey’s.

TBR
It’s easy to pick out a stack of books you want to read throughout the read-a-thon. As you only have 24 hours, you don’t want to spend 30 minutes standing in front of your book case figuring out what book to read next. If specific TBR’s don’t work for you then pick out a large amount (maybe ten) that you are currently most leaning towards reading. You can also make a TBR jar with those books so you just have to pick one out.

Social Media
Now you’ve picked out the books you can decide how you want to keep the rest of us updated. Your blog, Tumblr, Instagram, Goodreads or Twitter are all great places to use. This year however I read the cheerleaders will mostly go to Twitter to cheer us on during Dewey’s read-a-thon. Other 24hour read-a-thons might have a specific social media they want to use. But through using the hastag on different social media you can find others that are busy like you. It can be fun to interact. Of course you don’t have to if you don’t want to.

If you are going for a blog post that you update throughout the read-a-thon, then you can plan in the post with an easy format to update, beforehand.

This year I will sign-up with Twitter to share my progress and post pictures on Instagram.

Goals
It can be handy to decide what your goals are going to be. How many hours would you like to read? Though this is a 24 hour read-a-thon you don’t have to read all 24 hours if you have other things to do throughout the day as well. A solid 24 hours is almost unmanagable anyway. We all need to eat and pee. But thinking about how much you’d like to read would be good. Other goals to consider are how many pages or books you’d like to read. Don’t set your goal too high.

Another thing to consider beforehand is if you want to participate in challenges that are often hosted throughout read-a-thons.

Snacks and Food
We all need to eat and drink. Deciding on your drinks and snacks before is a handy thing to do so you don’t spend valuable time searching through the cabinets for a good snack. It’s also good to figure out what to do with lunch and dinner. If you have a partner you can ask them to prepare dinner for instance. Otherwise you can choose something easy to prepare so it doesn’t cost you too much time.

During

Read
Read, read, read

Breaks
No matter how much we would like to read hours on end, our eyes do need breaks. So don’t be stubborn and take them. Fill up on your snacks and drinks, update your social media, note down your progress and take the time to interact with others. I tend to take a break of 15 to 30 minutes depending on how I am feeling. But it works different for everyone.

To Sleep or Not to Sleep
That is the question. This is personal for everyone. Some can easily pull an all nighter while others can’t get away with that. It can also depend on how you slept the night before, your health and other things you have to do the next day.

I always have to sleep. My body, especially now pregnant, does not deal with all nighters too well. I do try to get up earlier than normal the next day to get in some more reading hours. It is why I tend to make a goal of how many hours I’d like to read in total.

If you are going to try to go without a night of sleep consider taking a 30 minute nap. Just put an alarm. It helps to refresh. Using cafeine only gives you a temporary boost.

Wrap Up

You finished
So look at your accomplishment. How much did you read and for how long did you read? Was it your first 24 hour read-a-thon, and how do you feel about it? Share it with the rest of us.

Then crash. Or continue reading.

Or

Disregard anything I’ve written here and find your own way. There is really no right or wrong way to do a 24 hour read-a-thon. The most important part? Have fun!

Are any of you participating in Dewey’s 24 hour read-a-thon? Please come find me on Twitter and Instagram! I’ll also update on Goodreads so friend me on there as well. 🙂

They really are great to make a dent in TBR’s. Mostly I hear about them by following various people on Twitter (and sometimes booktube), sometimes accounts that are just for read-a-thon’s. Dewey’s 24h read-a-thon is always in April and October so I know to check their website at those times. At the start of May there is RYBSAT. It’s a week long read-a-thon. This is their twitter account if you are interested: https://twitter.com/Rybsat15

Aww thank you so much, I’d definitely be interested! I’ll check it out now, hopefully it doesn’t clash with my exams and I’ll be able to take part 🙂 I desperately need to make a dent in my TBR so this might be the way for me to do it!

Yeah I can imagine that. It’s why I never try for the full 24 hours, because I need the sleep. Maybe read-a-thon’s that are a whole weekend or week might be better fitted for you? It gives more room for other things, but there is motivation to try and read more throughout the week/weekend.

Welcome to A Dance with Books

I’m Annemieke. A Dutch book blogger who blogs in English. But I’m also a wife and mom. I prefer to read fantasy (adult and young adult) books but sometimes I deviate from that genre a little. Feel free to leave me a comment or contact me through other social media accounts. I always welcome a chat.

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